His Contracted Wife: When Revenge Meets Love
Five years ago, Nina Hale lost everything... her family, her reputation, and the man she once loved. Betrayed by her own sister and abandoned by those she trusted most, she disappeared without a trace.
Now she's back.
With a new identity and a burning determination, Nina is ready to reclaim her life and chase the dream she once gave up: becoming a star actress. But her return awakens old enemies, and her scheming sister Lydia is determined to ruin her again.
Just when Nina thinks things can't get worse, she's caught in another trap... and unexpectedly crosses paths with a quiet, lonely little boy.
Ethan Grant hasn't spoken in years.
Feeling responsible for him, Nina agrees to stay and help the child come out of his shell. But she didn't expect Ethan's dangerously charming father, Lucas Grant, to enter the picture.
Cold, powerful, and impossible to read, Lucas slowly finds himself drawn to the woman who brightens his son's world.
What begins as a simple act of kindness soon turns into something far more complicated, because Nina came back for revenge.
She never planned to fall in love.
**********
"I saw you with him," Lucas said quietly, but the tension in his jaw gave him away.
Nina exhaled, crossing her arms. "You don't get to care."
"Don't I?" He stepped in, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes.
"This is just a contract."
"Then why does it bother me?" His hand hovered near her waist, not touching-yet.
"It shouldn't." Her breath faltered.
His gaze darkened, "And yet it does."
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Chapter 7
The hospital room had grown strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
Nina could feel Lucas Grant's gaze resting on her like the weight of a spotlight. He wasn't speaking. He was studying her... slowly, carefully. The kind of quiet scrutiny that made it feel like every thought in her head had suddenly become visible, as if he could peel back the layers of her mind with nothing more than a look.
Nina shifted uncomfortably against the hospital pillows, her fingers twisting the thin blanket.
Why is he staring like that?
The silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. She resisted the urge to fidget further, knowing it would only betray her growing unease. His gaze wasn't exactly hostile... there was no anger in those sharp eyes.
But it wasn't friendly either. It was analytical, measured. Like a chess player studying the board before making a decisive move, calculating every possible outcome.
Lucas leaned slightly back in his chair, his long fingers resting loosely on the armrest, the picture of controlled composure.
Even seated, he radiated an effortless authority that filled the room.
Nina found herself holding her breath without meaning to. The man didn't need to raise his voice or make grand gestures. His mere presence commanded attention, demanded respect.
After several long seconds that felt like minutes, he finally spoke.
"Tell me what you want."
Nina blinked, the unexpected question catching her off guard."...Sorry?"
The words felt completely out of context, disconnected from everything that had happened. Lucas's expression didn't change. Not a flicker of impatience, not a hint of clarification. Just that same steady, unreadable gaze.
"Your request."
Nina stared at him, her confusion deepening."...My what?"
Before Lucas could elaborate, Axel suddenly clapped his hands together like he'd been waiting for this moment, practically bouncing in his seat with barely contained energy.
"Oh! Right!"
He grinned widely at Nina, his enthusiasm a stark contrast to his brother's cool demeanor. "My brother means your reward."
Nina's brain stalled again, struggling to process the shift in conversation. "Reward?"
"You saved Ethan," Axel said matter-of-factly, as if this should have been obvious from the start. "Which means Lucas wants to repay you."
He leaned forward conspiratorially, lowering his voice like he was sharing a valuable secret."Trust me, this is a very profitable situation for you. My brother doesn't offer favors lightly. When Lucas Grant owes someone, he pays his debts, and he pays them well."
Nina's eyes widened slightly.
Her brain kicked into overdrive, analyzing the situation from every angle.
Careful.
She had heard enough horror stories about wealthy families to know one crucial thing: the richer someone was, the more suspicious they tended to be. They didn't accumulate fortunes by trusting people at face value.
Especially powerful men like Lucas Grant.
If she acted too eager, they might assume she had orchestrated the whole incident. If she asked for something outrageous, they would brand her a schemer, perhaps even a threat. The Grant family probably had lawyers who could make her life miserable.
If she refused entirely, though... Well, Lucas didn't strike her as a man who enjoyed having his gestures rejected. His entire demeanor screamed control, and people like that rarely appreciated being told "no."
Nina drew a slow, steadying breath, weighing her options. Then she shook her head gently, hoping she appeared more confident than she felt.
"You really don't need to repay me."
Axel blinked, his expression shifting to pure confusion."...What?"
Nina gestured toward the sleeping Ethan, his small chest rising and falling peacefully beneath the hospital blanket. "It's true that I helped him," she said, keeping her voice calm and measured. "But he helped me too."
Lucas's gaze sharpened, his attention now fully focused on her. She could feel the weight of his scrutiny, as if he were dissecting every word.
Nina pressed on, maintaining her composure. "If Ethan hadn't climbed out that window and found help, I'd still be locked in that storage room. Who knows how long before someone would have found me?"
She offered a light shrug, as if the matter were simple. "So if you really think about it... we kind of saved each other. We're even."
Axel stared at her as though she had just torn up a winning lottery ticket and tossed it into the wind."...You're serious?"
"Completely," Nina nodded, her expression earnest.
She even managed a small, reassuring smile, the kind meant to convey sincerity and put others at ease.
Inside her head, however, alarm bells were ringing at full volume.
Abort mission. Abort mission. Do NOT get involved with billionaire drama. Nothing good ever comes from owing favors to people like this.
Axel rubbed the back of his neck, clearly at a loss. His usual charm seemed to falter in the face of her unexpected response."Well... that's very noble of you..."
He glanced sideways at Lucas, as if seeking guidance. Lucas's expression had not improved. In fact, it had darkened considerably, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet by several degrees, and the air grew thick with unspoken tension.
Nina immediately sensed something had shifted.
Why does he look more annoyed now?
Had she miscalculated? Did she say something offensive? Perhaps wealthy people had different rules about these things, unspoken protocols she'd unknowingly violated.
Her pulse quickened as she tried to read Lucas's inscrutable face, searching for any clue about what she'd done wrong.
Lucas leaned forward slightly, his posture shifting with deliberate intent."You're refusing compensation."
It wasn't a question. It was an observation, delivered with the precision of a man accustomed to analyzing every transaction.
Nina hesitated, suddenly uncertain of her footing."...Yes?"
Silence descended... heavy, uncomfortable, stretching between them like a taut wire. Then Axel suddenly burst out laughing, the sound shattering the tension. "Okay, wow. Lucas, your face right now looks like someone just returned your birthday gift," he said, shaking his head in apparent disbelief.
Lucas ignored him entirely, his focus never wavering from Nina.
Axel turned back to her, his expression more sympathetic now. "My brother has a thing about debts. He hates owing people," he explained, his tone almost apologetic.
"Hates it," he repeated with theatrical emphasis, gesturing for effect.
"Like... physically allergic to the concept."
"So please, just ask for something," Axel continued, spreading his hands in a gesture of encouragement. "Anything at all."
Nina hesitated, her mind racing through possibilities."...Anything?"
"Anything," Axel confirmed.
She glanced at Lucas. His expression remained unreadable, carved from stone. But his gaze was unwavering, fixed on her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. Waiting. Demanding an answer.
Oh boy.
Nina's brain kicked into overdrive, frantically calculating her next move.
Okay, think. What do wealthy people value?
Simple solutions. Direct transactions.Money.
Money solved everything in their world.
And if she asked for money, they'd assume she was straightforward and honest... refreshingly uncomplicated.
Yes. Perfect logic.
Besides, her bank account currently contained approximately the same amount as a moderately successful lemonade stand after a rainy week. Her acting career was hanging by a thread so thin it might snap at any moment. Her rent was due in less than two weeks. Her fridge contained half a bottle of ketchup, some wilted lettuce, and a yogurt whose expiration date she'd stopped checking out of self-preservation.
So yes.
Money would be extremely helpful. Necessary, even.
Nina cleared her throat carefully, steeling herself.
"Well... if you really insist..."
She forced herself to say it, the words feeling strange on her tongue. "...You could give me money."
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7.6
Dumped by her fiancé just days before their wedding, only to watch him marry someone else-what would you do? Cry yourself to sleep, or dress to kill for revenge?
That was Elaina's reality. She's no Cinderella, yet she lost a shoe while recklessly crashing her ex's wedding. Her revenge plan went up in flames, but fate had other ideas, throwing her into the path of Alister-a man who is handsome, charismatic, and dangerous... and ironically, the person closest to her ex-fiancé.
Amidst heartbreak and vendettas, Alister paints her world in new colors, turning Elaina into a modern-day Cinderella. But will this story end in "happily ever after," or is Alister merely leading her into a much more dangerous game?
9.2
After catching my fiancé cheating with my adoptive sister, I broke off our engagement on the spot.
In retaliation, my abusive adoptive parents sold me to Kaelen Knight, the Lycan King, to clear our pack's debts.
He was rumored to be a ruthless, reclusive monster who had been horribly crippled in a fire centuries ago.
To ensure my absolute ruin, my sister planted fake love letters to my ex in my luggage and anonymously destroyed my university scholarship, cutting off my only escape route to the human world.
"A wolfless whore. You planned to drug me," Kaelen sneered, looking at the fake evidence with absolute disgust.
Believing I was a spy, my new husband had his guards throw me into the freezing woods with the Dire Wolves, leaving me to survive the night alone.
I was just a broken, wolfless Omega, entirely at the mercy of a cruel, powerless Lycan and a family that wanted me dead.
But I was wrong about him being powerless.
One night, I accidentally saw him rise from his wheelchair, his tall frame radiating an overwhelming, lethal aura.
He wasn't crippled at all.
The secret I thought was my shield was actually a loaded gun pointed at my head. Trapped with a terrifying predator, I had to stop playing the victim and fight for my life.
9.7
I was an intern nurse working exhausting shifts, yet my mother constantly forced me into blind dates with wealthy, arrogant men to secure our family's social standing.
During a terrifying hospital lockdown, an assassin disguised as a doctor held a scalpel to my throat. I was almost killed, but a high-ranking military colonel threw his own body down a flight of concrete stairs to shield me.
I survived with cuts and bruises, but when I went home, my mother didn't care about my near-death experience. She was only furious that I had rushed out on my blind date with Preston, a rich financial analyst.
She forced me to meet him to apologize. When Preston grabbed my arm, bruised me, and mocked my attack as a pathetic lie, my mother still took his side.
"Men get angry," she told me coldly. "It's your job not to provoke them. You will beg for his forgiveness, or you are no longer welcome in this house."
I had narrowly escaped an assassin, yet my own family was willing to feed me to a monster just for a fat paycheck and neighborhood gossip.
My heart went completely dead.
So, when the intimidating Colonel appeared, offering me maximum military protection through a sudden marriage, I didn't hesitate.
I walked back into my parents' house and calmly slapped a crisp marriage certificate onto the coffee table.
"I won't be apologizing to Preston. I got married today."
8.6
For two years, I was trapped behind my own eyes, a prisoner in my own skull.
A crazed fan had hijacked my body after a brutal car crash, wearing my skin like a cheap suit.
When my soul finally locked back into my flesh in a cramped hospital room, I realized she had destroyed everything I built.
This parasitic stalker had drained my massive fortune to zero, buying luxury gifts for a mediocre actor and turning me into the internet's most hated woman.
My phone was flooded with death threats, and the hashtag demanding I go to hell was trending at number one.
Even the hospital nurses despised me. One marched into my room, raising her hand to violently slap my pale cheek.
"You psychotic bitch, you make me sick!"
Worse, my sprawling Beverly Hills estate had been foreclosed and sold to a mysterious billionaire named Kasey Dominguez.
I had absolutely nothing left. No money. No reputation. No home.
The sheer violation of watching a psychotic stranger ruin my life while I was locked in the passenger seat of my own mind made my blood boil.
I refused to let her destroy my legacy.
As the nurse's hand descended, my atrophied muscles snapped into action.
I twisted her wrist until the joint popped, grabbed the keys to my freedom, and slipped out into the cold Los Angeles night.
I was going to take my life back, starting with the billionaire who thought he owned my house.
8.9
My family's company went bankrupt, and my biological father was lying in the ICU, kept alive by machines that cost tens of thousands a day.
I thought it was just a tragic business failure, until I caught my mother in bed with my stepfather.
They had secretly transferred all our assets months ago, deliberately bankrupting the company and leaving my father to die.
To pay the hospital bills, my stepfather forced me to a private club, trying to sell me to a sleazy investor.
When I refused, he slapped me across the face, and my mother just looked at me with cold, dead eyes.
"Be realistic, Jaelynn. A woman's body is a tool. Use it to get what you need."
Later, right before my father's emergency surgery, my stepfather signed a Do Not Resuscitate order and froze the medical accounts.
"If you don't get on your knees and spread your legs for him, I will tell the hospital to pull your father's plug."
Standing in the freezing rain, covered in mud and blood, I stared at the astronomical hospital bill in my hand.
My own family had plotted to murder my father and sell me to the highest bidder. The betrayal shattered every ounce of sanity I had left.
I didn't cry or beg them anymore.
Instead, I pulled out a water-stained, gold-embossed business card.
It belonged to Dolph Valentine, the most ruthless billionaire in New York and my ex-fiancé's uncle.
If they wanted to destroy my life, I was going to sell my soul to the biggest monster of them all and drag them straight to hell.
8.4
Juliette was an agriculture major desperately trying to get top-tier CRISPR potato data from Adrian Castillo, the untouchable physics genius and wealthy heir.
But to get it, she was dragged to a high-end shooting club, where Adrian suddenly lost all his legendary motor skills, shooting zeroes and acting like a helpless nerd.
His clumsy act made Juliette a target. Blair, a wealthy heiress, cornered her, mocking her mud-stained cargo pants and calling her a pathetic dirt-girl.
"If you lose, you leave this club and never speak to Adrian again."
Blair challenged her to a professional air pistol match. The crowd of elites laughed, waiting for the farm girl to humiliate herself.
Even worse, Adrian just stood behind her, pretending to be terrified of Blair and whispering that his sinuses would swell shut if Juliette didn't save him.
The mockery and judgment felt suffocating. Everyone thought she was just a desperate fangirl who didn't even know how to hold a gun.
But they didn't know the dark trauma she had buried years ago. And she didn't understand why Adrian, a man who could supposedly shoot a coin at eight hundred meters in a sandstorm, was deliberately playing weak to push her to the firing line. What was his sick endgame?
To secure her experimental fertilizer, Juliette finally stopped hiding.
She picked up the competition pistol, locked her perfect stance, and fired ten flawless shots.
108.5. Total, undeniable annihilation.